From: Ashu M. G. Solo
To: Mayor's Office; Randy Donauer
Cc: Darren Hill; Pat Lorje; Ann Iwanchuk; Myles Heidt; Charlie Clark; Mairin Loewen; Glen Penner; Tiffany Paulsen; Bev Dubois
Subject: Civil Rights Complaint Against Don Atchison, Randy Donauer, and City of Saskatoon for Religious Discrimination
Don Atchison and Randy Donauer,
I am attaching to this email a copy of my civil rights complaint made to the Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission on Tuesday, May 1, 2012 that names Mayor Don Atchison, Councillor Randy Donauer, and the City of Saskatoon as defendants for religious discrimination at the Volunteer Appreciation Banquet on Wednesday, April 18, 2012.
This complaint is to protect the rights of the minority from the misdirected will of the majority.
This complaint is to protect the right to freedom of religion enshrined in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms and Saskatchewan Human Rights Code.
This complaint is to secure the birthright of religious liberty for all.
This complaint is to secure the right to freedom from religion as part of the right to freedom of religion.
This complaint is to enforce the separation of religion and government.
This complaint is to protect against religious bigots who would abuse their government offices to impose religion or spirituality on others who don't share these beliefs.
This complaint is to protect against government giving primacy to one religion over all other religions.
This complaint is to protect against religious bigots who would abuse their government offices to impose their particular religious beliefs on others who don't share them.
Most of all, this complaint is to get a judgment that has the effect of permanently stopping public prayers at all official civic events throughout the province of Saskatchewan.
And this complaint is to get a judgment that has persuasive value in other Canadian provinces too.
I sent this complaint by fax to the Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission on Tuesday, May 1, 2012. Then I also hand-delivered it to the Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission on Tuesday, May 1, 2012 because they wanted a copy with the original signature and I could get a stamped copy of it. I will provide further information to the Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission on relevant legal precedents.
This email is being blinded copied to various media outlets. My emails to Don Atchison, Randy Donauer, and Saskatoon City Council are available at
Sincerely,
Ashu M. G. Solo
Following is the civil rights complaint made to the Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission against Don Atchison, Randy Donauer, and the City of Saskatoon.
By Ashu M. G. Solo
I
attended a Volunteer Appreciation Banquet at TCU
Place in Saskatoon on Wednesday, April 18, 2012. This was a civic event put on by the office
of Saskatoon Mayor Don Atchison to thank volunteers on Saskatoon civic
committees and boards. I am a
representative on the Saskatoon Cultural Diversity and Race Relations
Committee, an advisory committee to Saskatoon City Council. I was extremely shocked, extremely offended,
and extremely dismayed that Councillor Randy Donauer tried to lead the audience
in a public Christian prayer (which mentioned the Christian God Jesus) to start
the Volunteer Appreciation Banquet.
The inclusion of a public Christian prayer in a municipal government
event clearly violates the separation of religion and government.
Furthermore, it clearly gives primacy to one religion over all other
religions.
This is not a Christian country or Christian city. It is a
secular multicultural country and secular multicultural city with people from
numerous religions as well as spiritual people, agnostics, and atheists.
There should not be a public Christian prayer at a municipal
government event or civic event paid for with Saskatoon taxpayer money. A
mayor and city councillor should know better than that.
Religion is a prohibited ground of discrimination under the
Saskatchewan Human Rights Code and a fundamental freedom under the Canadian
Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The freedom of religion includes freedom
from religion.
I’ve attended numerous banquets for numerous secular organizations
and there was never a prayer at any of them and certainly not a public Christian
prayer at any of them. I would have thought the last place I would hear a
prayer was at a municipal government event for volunteers including volunteers
serving on the Cultural Diversity and Race Relations Committee, which promotes
respect for all races, religions, ethnicities, cultures, etc.
It is extremely inappropriate and extremely discriminatory to have
a public Christian prayer at a municipal government event or civic event.
I know there were many people at this event who are not Christian.
If Don Atchison, Randy Donauer, or other people want to pray before having
dinner, people are free to do that on their own according to their own
religious beliefs, but when there is a public Christian prayer at a municipal
government event, that is extremely discriminatory.
Don Atchison and Randy Donauer are free to promote Christianity on
their own time, but they’re not free to use the office of mayor or a municipal
government event funded by taxpayers to promote Christianity and impose their
religious beliefs on others who don’t share them.
I was invited to attend the Volunteer Appreciation Banquet because
of my volunteer work for the Cultural Diversity and Race Relations
Committee. I didn’t volunteer to be subject to Christian
indoctrination.
I joined the Cultural Diversity and Race Relations Committee to
fight against discrimination. I never would have thought that my service
on the Cultural Diversity and Race Relations Committee would instead make me subject
to discrimination at a municipal government Volunteer Appreciation Banquet for
public representatives on the Cultural Diversity and Race Relations Committee
and other committees and boards.
If I had known there would be a Christian prayer at the Volunteer
Appreciation Banquet, I certainly wouldn’t have attended because I don’t want
to be subject to Christian indoctrination at a municipal government sponsored
event or anywhere else. I will certainly not attend this event ever again
in the future if there is a Christian prayer at it. If I wanted to attend
a prayer, I could go to a religious institution. If I wanted to attend a Christian
prayer, I could go to a church. But I would never attend a prayer at any
kind of religious institution because I’m an atheist.
I’m sure most people at the Volunteer Appreciation Banquet
wouldn’t be happy if a Sikh, Scientologist, or Buddhist mayor were to have a
religious figure say a prayer from his religion to the audience. Why
should Christianity be treated any differently?
In a free society, the majority cannot discriminate against the
minority. In a free society, the rights of the minority must be protected
from the misdirected will of the majority.
They should stop making non-Christian Saskatoon citizens feel
excluded and like second-class citizens by having public Christian prayers at
municipal government events. This is absolutely disgraceful.
Instead of discriminating against religious minorities, municipal
officials should be respecting all religious minorities. Instead of engaging
in religious bigotry, municipal officials should be fighting to stop religious
bigotry. Instead of imposing their religious beliefs on others, municipal
officials should not use their offices and municipal government events to
promote their own religions.
An individual at my table at the Volunteer Appreciation Banquet
told me that there was a Christian prayer at the Volunteer Appreciation Banquet
last year too. I don’t know how long this practice has been going on in
Saskatoon municipal government events, but it is extremely inappropriate,
extremely offensive, extremely shameful, extremely disgraceful, extremely
bigoted, and extremely discriminatory. It must stop immediately.
Furthermore, I’ve heard that Don Atchison has an annual event
called the Mayor’s Prayer Breakfast. I find the idea of a Mayor’s Prayer
Breakfast to be extremely offensive. I haven’t attended this event
because it obviously includes prayer, but the office of mayor should not be
used to promote prayer or one particular religion. Obviously Don Atchison
is free to do whatever he likes with religion on his own time, but it clearly
violates the separation of religion and government to have an event called
“Mayor’s Prayer Breakfast” instead of something like “Don Atchison’s Prayer
Breakfast” because he is using the office of mayor to promote prayer with the
name “Mayor’s Prayer Breakfast.” Also,
Don Atchison is using the office of mayor to give primacy to one religion over
all other religions because there is only Christian prayer at that event.
As you know, Saskatoon Public Schools were forced to stop having a
Christian "Lord's prayer" in public schools when a complaint was made
by religious minorities to the Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission. If public prayer was disallowed in public
schools, why shouldn’t it also be disallowed in civic events?
When StarPhoenix reporter Betty Ann Adam questioned Don Atchison,
he proposed having a prayer for a different religion every year. Author David Barrett has documented 10,000
different religions, 150 of which have one million or more followers:
Is Don Atchison going to have 10,000 different prayers?
Where are they going to find people to say all of these prayers? Why not
just let people pray on their own if they want to instead of having public
prayers at government events?
There are religions on small islands that we’ve never heard
of. Is he going to have a Scientology prayer, a Zoroastrian prayer, and a
Heaven’s Gate prayer? These religions have no less validity to their
followers than any other religion. As an atheist, I believe in no
religion. It would take millenniums to rotate through prayers for every
religion. Different people attend the banquet every year and they don’t
live for millenniums, so nobody would ever be exposed to every prayer for every
religion at the banquet. Besides it is extremely inappropriate to have
any prayer at a municipal government event because it violates the separation
of religion and government. Why not just leave out the prayers so nobody
is discriminated against and nobody is offended?
Randy Donauer said he’s for freedom and tolerance. I believe he implied that I’m not to Star
Phoenix reporter Betty Ann Adam. Freedom
and tolerance are not about him using his municipal government office to push his
religious beliefs onto others who don’t share them. This is a form of
religious bigotry and discrimination. Freedom and tolerance are about
protecting the rights of the minority from the misdirected will of the
majority. In this case, freedom and tolerance are about protecting the
rights of religious minorities and nonreligious people from the misdirected
will of a Christian majority. There cannot be a tyranny of the majority
in Saskatoon municipal government. Let’s not twist the meaning of freedom
and tolerance. In the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, there is no
reference to Christianity like Randy Donauer’s public prayer clearly had by
mentioning the name Jesus.
Shame on those who would use their government offices and
government events to impose their religious beliefs on people who don’t share
them.
Don Atchison claims he never thought about the prayer. He needs to wake up. There are numerous people in Saskatoon who
are not Christian. Don Atchison has been mayor for almost nine
years. He shouldn’t pretend that he didn’t realize not everyone is a
Christian. He knows that. I know
that. We all know that. He knew
the prayer trampled on the rights of those who aren’t Christian and even those
who are Christian who don’t want to impose their beliefs on others, but he
wanted to use his government office and a taxpayer funded government event to
impose his religious beliefs on others who don’t share them and give primacy to
his religion over all other religions. He should be mayor of all the people
including non-Christians and aboriginals. He should be extremely ashamed
of himself.
Don Atchison and Randy Donauer both have an ongoing problem with
violating the separation of religion and government. This has resulted in
many complaints in the past, but they continue to violate the separation of
religion and government. They won’t apologize or guarantee not to violate
the separation of religion and government again. Therefore, I am filing
this complaint against them with the Saskatchewan Human Rights
Commission.
I gave Don Atchison and Randy Donauer until April 27, 2012 to meet
these demands:
1. An apology from Don Atchison to me and to anyone else who was
offended for having a public Christian prayer at the Volunteer Appreciation
Banquet.
2. An apology from Randy Donauer to me and to anyone else who was
offended for saying a public Christian prayer at the Volunteer Appreciation
Banquet.
3. A guarantee from Don Atchison that he will not violate the
separation of religion and government again at any Saskatoon civic event.
This includes not violating the separation of religion and government with the
Mayor’s Prayer Breakfast. The name of this event should be changed, so it
doesn’t use the office of mayor to promote prayer or Christian prayer. It
could be called “Don Atchison’s Prayer Breakfast.”
4. A guarantee from Randy Donauer that he will not violate the
separation of religion and government again at any Saskatoon civic event.
The only way this matter can be
resolved is by them meeting these demands.
I’m absolutely not looking for any
money. This case is not at all about
making money for me. If monetary damages
are awarded, I’ll absolutely donate them to charity.
I am working with the Centre for
Inquiry on this case. The Centre for Inquiry is a national
educational charity advocating separation of religion and government and is
Canada's leading voice for atheists and agnostics. The Centre for Inquiry is supporting my case
as well as similar moves across Canada to remove prayers from government
proceedings.
I am also supported by the
Canadian Secular Alliance in this case. Canadian
Secular alliance is a public policy research organization that advocates for
separation of religion and government and neutrality of government in religion.
Furthermore, my position on this
case is supported by the Canadian Civil Liberties Association, Canada’s leading
organization for defending and advancing civil rights and civil liberties.
I will provide further information
on similar cases in other jurisdictions.
I haven’t had time yet to write about this.
I believe it would be a conflict
of interest for Judge Arnot to be involved in this complaint because I know he
is a friend of Don Atchison and went to high school with him. I know this from speeches they made at an
event they held to start the cultural diversity and race relations month in
Saskatoon.